Pickle vs. City Hall: The fight to save Chicago’s horse-drawn carriages

For nearly 35 years, Larry Ortega has run his popular horse-drawn carriage business, Chicago Horse and Carriage Ltd. And for all the time he has been in business, Ortega and his staff have operated without a major incident, and demand continues to boom. But an ordinance proposed by Chicago Alderman Ed Burke would put an...

For nearly 35 years, Larry Ortega has run his popular horse-drawn carriage business, Chicago Horse and Carriage Ltd.

And for all the time he has been in business, Ortega and his staff have operated without a major incident, and demand continues to boom.

But an ordinance proposed by Chicago Alderman Ed Burke would put an end to all of that. In fact, if passed, this ordinance would eliminate horse-drawn carriages in the city altogether.

Burke’s proposal to end the process of reissuing city carriage licenses starting in 2015 came seemingly out of the blue.

Just like that, because he said so, Burke could put business owners like Larry Ortega out of work, displace beloved horses (or worse, send them to slaughter), eliminate jobs and end an iconic Chicago attraction.

Save Chicago’s horse-drawn carriages. Sign the petition here.